Isaac c



isAAc c. encon-or ALBANY, NEW YORK.

Leners Pamela. 92,3044, dated July 6, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN POTATO-DIGGitin.

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The Schedule reiexrcil to in these Letters Patent and mai-ung partl of the same.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ISAAC C. GROQM, of the city and ,county of Albany, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Potato-Diggers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a partof lthis specification, in whichy Figure l represents a longitudinal vertical section of the machine..l

Figure 2 represents a perspective vertical View, with a part of the endless digging-forks removed.

Figure 3 is a lateral cross-section through red line,

Figure 4 shows the manner of the construction of the endless belts, carrying the digging-laines..

The nature of my invention consists in an endless digging-device, carried by two drums, one lplaced above and the other below, near the ground to be dug. A rotating motion is given to the upper drum, by means of a pair oi' gears attached to the shaft of thesaid drum, and actuated by driving-gears attached to the main wheels, which'support and carry the machine.

Placed back of the upperdrum is a vibrating sieve, actuated by a crank or elbow-lever and connectingrods, and operated by a pinion, driven by one of the gears on the drinn-shaft. When the potatoes are dug and raised up over the top ot' the upper drum, they fall,with the soilv carried with them, into the said sieve, and are there separated. A basket orbox,piv oted to the sides of the frame of the machine, is placed beneath the said sieve, and cat'ehes t-he potatoes as they fall therefrom, and when the said box islled, it is dumped, by means of a suitable.rod,'by the driver in front. By a pair of levers, the driver can throw the gears in or out of action, as may be required. A seat is also provided for the driver, whocan from his place operate and control each p art required.

The front of the machine is supported and carried by a pair of wheels, supporting au elliptic spring, which may be depressed at will, so as to cause the digging-tines to enter deeper into the ground. This is effectedv by means of a lever, s0 placed as to be readily operated by the. driver. A

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, l will proceed to describe, in reference to the,accompanying drawings, and the letters of reference marked thereon, the same letters indicating like parts.

A represents the frame of the machine.

ll is the main, or driving-wheels.

I) is the front platform.

The drive-wheels B are provided with thc drivegears F, l, 2, and 3, and run on an axle, a, secured in any suitable manner to the frame A, as shown in iigs. 1 and 3. y

A drinn, G, iigs. 51,2, and 3, provided with the shaft g, is placed above the frame,- and over and a little in front of the axle a. The shaft g of the said drum works into the boxes or bearings, which are free to work in. a lateral direction in their 'seats in the frame. The said shaft g also is made to project beyond the frame A, and receives 'the gears H. The said gears H work in, and are rotated by the drive-gears F, at- 'cached to the drive-wheels B, as shown in gs. l and 3. Y

' A second and smaller drum, I, is placed forward, and nigh the ground, and revolves on a shaft, i., running into proper bearings, shown in red lines, fig. l.

The drums G and I carry the endless link-band J, which is kept tight by the set-screw and the upper bearing of theshaft fi, of the lower drinn I, shown by Y the red lines in g. 1.

Attached to and carried by the said endless bands J, are the digging-forks K'. The said forks are made yby riveting to the bars :vof metal, the tines z, as shown in figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4. The tines 2 arel made of steel,

and are slightly S-shaped, as shown in iig. 1.

The endless bands J are formed by the flat metal links c, and the oblong round iron links o, fig. 4.

Placed back of the drum4 G, and below a line with its lower surface, is a vibrating sieve, L, consisting of several long bars land short barsl', fig. 2, placed and secured alternate to a common head. vThe said sieve is hung from two standards c, starting up from the frame on either side, and workson apivot, s, starting up', from the bar s', gsel and 2, and is vibratcd by means of a bell-crank, m, and connecting-rods m', which are operated by a crank, a, and rod a. The crank a isattached to the shaft of the pinions N, which is rotated by its teeth working int-o the gear H, on the drum-shaft'g. y

Placed below the said vibrating sieve L is'the receiving-basket or box M. The said receivingbox is supported on a bar, e, placed back of the centre ofthe said box, and beneath, and is furnished with journals at their ends, which work into bearings made in the sides of the irame'A.

A standard, d, is secured to one end of the box L, and is provided with a rod, d', which runs forward, and

may be secured at the front standard d, vfig. 1, when the basket is to be keptin an upright position to catch the potatoes asthey fall from the sieve above, and when the rod cl is removed from the said front standard d", the basket will, of its own gravity, tilt back and empty its contents on the ground.

Two levers I, placed on either side ofthe frame A, work on pivots f, iigs. l and 2. To the rear ends of the said levers are connected two connecting-links h, which links are attached \to the shaft g of the drum G. When the long front ends of the said leversare thrown down, the rear ends of the same are thrown up and 'crowded upwards, the connecting-links h'throw the gear H of the drum out from contact with the drivegear G. By the bar p, vugs. 1 and 2, connecting the two levers in front, the said levers can be held down and secured by means ofthe buttonsr, pivot-ed on the front platform, as shown in tig. 2.

The front part of the machine is carried by a pair of wheels, C, connected by an axle. The said axle can turn under the fifth-wheel t, gshl and 3. Placed on the said fth-wl1eel,`and secured thereto, is the elliptic spring T, which supports the front of the machine.

A stiff rod,'U, with its lower end acting as a king bolt, passes through both sides of the spring, and up through the platform D, as Yshown in figs. 2 and 3, and is surrounded above the platform by a tubular stand- :1rd,u. A lever, w, wit-l1 one end pivoted to the standard w', (starting fronrand secured to the fifth-wheel 15,)

straddles the rod u, and when the long end of' the said ever wis pressed down and secured by the hook or, elatch tw, the said end of the machine will be depressed and by this depression the digging-tines z are carried Thus, with the two levers W' and l", the operation ot' the digging and separati11g-apparatus is stopped.

\Vhen the machine is placed in position for operation in the field, they lever l) is released from its butf tous fr, when the gear H will fall into contact with drive-gear F. The lever W is depressed and secured by the catch' W, which will cause the front to be depressed, and carry with it the digging-tines close to the surface of the ground.

Having described my invention,

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is r 1. The endless band ot' digging-fluke, consisting of thetines z, bar x, tlat metal links V, oblong links O, arranged substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The vibrating sieve L, in combination with the receiving-basket M, substantially as and for the .pur- L pose set forth. p v

3. The lever- W, rod U, spring T, standard W', catch W", in combination with the main frame D and the front axle Q, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The levers l?, pivots f, connectingdinks h, and buttons r, in combination with the shaft g, substan tially as and for the purpose set forth.

ISAAC C. GROOM. Witnesses J AMES A. BUCKBEE, Jr., ALEX. SELKIRK. 

